Can't You See?
by Psychosomatic Insomniac
Summary: My first fanfic! I suck at summaries so I'll try not to give anything huge away. Basically, this story's about Raven's last year of high school. She's starting to feel more and more alone each day. Will a blond-and-green eyed someone keep her company?
1. Welcome to Hell

_So! This is a bit of a revamp for you guys, you're all so patient with me. I don't know how you've stuck around for all these months, but you have. So I've gotta thank you for that. I thought I'd add an intro, but the rest of this chapter remains unchanged because I want you to see how I've grown as a writer. I think I'm more organized now, I think my writing flows a bit better, now. So I hope._

_As always, reviews are lovely, beautiful, and pretty freaking cool. They make my day, my days are pretty hectic and boring._

___**Disclaimer: I don't own "Vampire Kisses" or anything in it, the novel totally belongs to Ellen Schreiber and her wonderful little publishers. Because I'm neither her nor a publisher, I don't own VK. I'm just an innocent little fangirl, so pleasepleaseplease don't sue me for things I never claimed to own.**_  


_Rated T for suggestive-ness, cursing, and some sexy guys I'd love to meet but never will._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

I always thought I was destined to be with someone different, someone strange, like me. Someone who didn't mind dancing in the dark and shrinking from the light of the sun. And when I finally met that someone, fell so incredibly and totally in love with them, I realized something: I'd grown up, grown out of my childish fantasies of vampire kisses and love bites. I wanted something real, some_one _real. There were some complications in this epiphany of mine, as life would have it. It took a break-up, a break-down, a misunderstanding, and a huge one-eighty.

People are going to talk about it, that's all they ever do in this stupid town. But I want to get my version in first, and then the gossip girls can go back to kissing up and kissing ass.

Because this is how it happened and the way it happened, with a little embellishment thrown in, just for the hell of it.

_..._

I walked up the steps of Dullsville High, flicking my sunglasses down over my face so I wouldn't be blinded by the sun. Another dreaded day of high school, another six hours spent with people who didn't really understand me. Yet another day apart from my Gothic prince, Alexander Sterling.

I drained my espresso down to the very last drop, craving its heavenly caffeine the way my vampire boyfriend craved my blood. Hopefully the caffeine would get me through first period. I crushed the styrofoam cup in my hand and threw it behind me into the trash.

Becky and her soccer-player boyfriend, Matt, were probably already in class. My best friend was just lucky she could see her boyfriend every day. Unfortunately for me, I had to wait until the sun set on Benson Hill before I could see my immortal love.

So I was alone in the halls, just like any other Monday. I grabbed my textbooks for Algebra II, the novel I hadn't read a word of for English, and all the other school stuff I'd need. Slamming my locker shut, I turned around.

And there he was.

"Trevor, get out of my way," I shoved him away, hand on his chest.

It just made him smile, the crooked smile that showed off the green of his eyes. "I always knew you wanted me, Monster Girl."

"As if!" I hissed. "Don't you have something more important to do? Like kicking a soccer ball around or sucking face with the cheerleaders?"

My nemesis just gave me a sexy grin, leaning so close I stumbled back against the lockers.

"I had something else in mind."

"Trevor," I breathed, shocked that he would go this far.

He put his arms on either side of me, hands pressed against my locker. I couldn't get away even if I wanted to. And trust me, I wanted to.

"Are you finally admitting it, Raven?" His breath tickled my face, it smelled like Christmas cookies, warm and sugary.

"Yes," I said, giving him a killer smile.

"So, you want me, huh?" The smirk was back on his face, twisting that gorgeous face into the one I remembered. The one I'd hated since kindergarten.

"Of course I want you," I said in a low voice, leaning towards his lips like I was going to kiss him. Trevor's eyes lit up in shock, and something else. Lust? Desire?

I kneed him where the sun doesn't shine, watching the look on his face change from sheer bliss to that of immense pain. "I want you to go to Hell," I finished, shoving him into the lockers and walking away.

The late bell rang just as I strode into first period English. Mrs. Story did not look pleased.

"Oh, Raven! I'm so glad you could join us," She said it with false enthusiasm, gesturing towards the seat right at the front of the room, where she could watch me. _Looks like this is going to be another fun year of high school._

I did what I was told, settling myself down in the chair. Half the class was staring at me, and the other half was probably whispering things I couldn't hear. I didn't care.

I dumped my book-bag on the floor and dug out my notebook. Notes were already on the blackboard, but I couldn't concentrate this morning. And besides, I had better things to do with my mortal mornings. I propped my feet up on my desk, getting comfy, furiously scribbling away plans for date night this Friday; a moonlit walk through the cemetery; just me, Alexander, and his grandmother's headstone.

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_Liked it? Hated it? Favorited it?_

_Send me a shout-out, tell me what you think._

_Just remember: Review = love, Criticism = cool, flaming = not._


	2. Could it be?

_I was thinking I'd add a little flashback thing to the start of every chapter so you guys can remember what's going on if my updates start getting really spaced out and wacky again. Saw it another story, a Yuffie x Vince one, thought it was a cool idea. But anyway!_

_I don't own anything, blahblahblah._ _**Disclaimer: I don't own "Vampire Kisses" or anything in it, the novel totally belongs to Ellen Schreiber and her wonderful little publishers. Because I'm neither her nor a publisher, I don't own VK. I'm just an innocent little fangirl, so pleasepleaseplease don't sue me for things I never claimed to own.**_

___I'm only adding a snippet from the previous chapter, blahblahblah. I want you guys to see how/if my writing's improved, blahblahblah._

___Review = love and all that nice stuff, blahblahblahh._

* * *

_The late bell rang just as I strode into first period English. Mrs. Story did not look pleased._

_"Oh, Raven! I'm so glad you could join us," She said it with false enthusiasm, gesturing towards the seat right at the front of the room, where she could watch me. _Looks like this is going to be another fun year.

_I did what I was told, settling myself down in the chair. Half the class was staring at me, and the other half was probably whispering things I couldn't hear. Like I cared?_

_I dumped my book-bag on the floor and dug out my notebook. Notes were already on the blackboard, but I couldn't concentrate this morning. And besides, I had better things to do with my mortal mornings. I propped my feet up on my desk, getting comfy, furiously scribbling away plans for date night this Friday; a moonlit walk through the cemetery; just me, Alexander, and his grandmother's headstone._

I ended up having a to-do list, which includedgoing to the mall with Becky, picking out the hottest new outfit at Hot Gothic, checking my e-mail for any ghoulish updates from the official _Kissing Coffins_ website, and of course, being bitten by my nocturnal lover. The last one on the list was far-fetched; I knew Alexander wasn't going to take me for his own, not just yet. I let my mind wander though, doodling the covenant ceremony on sacred ground.

When I was done with my masterpiece, I sat up to look at it in full glory. _I should take a pic for Alexander!_ I dug around in my _Hello, Batty_ purse in search of my cell phone. Pulling it out from the deep recesses of my bag, I quickly scrolled to the camera options, snapping a picture. I winced on the inside when I heard the little flash go off._Crud. Story will catch me, now._

Right when she turned around, would you look who walked in?

Trevor Mitchell.

Ms. Story looked back and forth between the two of us, like we had something we wanted to share. "You know, Trevor. I think you and Miss Madison over here need to save the lip-locking for the commons. In between classes isn't such a great idea."

For once, I shared the exact same train of thought with my arch enemy.

"Oh, what the hell?" We both said at the same time.

"I'm not-!" He yelled, throwing his hands up.

"You think we're-?" I screamed, jumping up from my seat.

My English teacher only smirked, triumphant. "After class, guys. You can talk it over, kiss it out, or even lock yourselves in the janitors' closet. But there are ten minutes left of my class and I will not have you two interrupting it again."

"This is outrageous!" Trevor raved.

"This is unheard of and downright sick!" I said, slamming my fist down on the desk.

Thank God, there were no empty seats left in the front row. So Trevor was forced to sit in the back, next to Jennifer Snow, prom-queen two years running. Lucky for me, but life must have sucked for her.

I went back to my daydreams of my vampire love, occasionally jotting down some notes about _The Scarlet Letter._ Some of the things that Nathaniel Hawthorne said were actually pretty genius, if you ask me. (Alright, alright! I admit it, I read a couple chapters. So sue me!)

When the bell rang at the end of class, I bolted to the door. I couldn't _wait_ to get away from Trevor. Someone got there first, beating me to it, sending my notebook and a bunch of other stuff flying when we crashed into each other.

"_Dude!"_ I yelled, infuriated. "What is your _problem?_"

The guy bent down to grab my stuff, moving really fast like he had somewhere he had to be. Maybe I wasn't the only one who wanted to get away from a certain soccer snob.

"You dropped this," The guy said, handing me my notebook and a bunch of _Olivia Outcast _pens.

"Well duh, I dropped-" I said, covering my mouth with black fingernails when I flicked my eyes towards him. The way he smiled, the way his eyes melted like pure dark chocolate. My eyes darted to his clothes, doing a quick once-over. I wasn't checking out some random dude.

"Alexander?" I asked, looking up into his eyes again. This mortal heart beat faster, willing it so. It _had_ to be him.

* * *

_Ew, yeah I'm so over the vampire refernces, the whole "mortal heart" and all that jazz. It was fun to write at first, but I really don't know how Ellen does it. It gets old. Really fast._

_(Not bashing her or anything, just my opinion.)_

_Review = love, criticism = cool, flaming = not._


	3. This is Sick

_Ugh, I really hate this chapter. I'm glad I've gotten out of the whole "telling" stage, where I tell you every one of Raven's emotions instead of showing them through her actions. Creative Writing class has now caught up with my muses. Yayy!_

___I don't own anything, blahblahblahh._

___**Disclaimer: I don't own "Vampire Kisses" or anything in it, the novel totally belongs to Ellen Schreiber and her wonderful little publishers. Because I'm neither her nor a publisher, I don't own VK. I'm just an innocent little fangirl, so pleasepleaseplease don't sue me for things I never claimed to own.**_

_Rated T for the usual. But wait...if you're reading this, you're probably a teenager, aren't you?_

* * *

_When the bell rang at the end of class, I bolted to the door. I couldn't wait to get away from Trevor. Someone got there first, beating me to it, sending my notebook and a bunch of other stuff flying when we crashed into each other._

"Dude!"_ I yelled, infuriated. "What is your_ problem?_"_

_The guy bent down to grab my stuff, moving really fast like he had somewhere he had to be. Maybe I wasn't the only one who wanted to get away from a certain soccer snob._

_"You dropped this," The guy said, handing me my notebook and a bunch of_ Olivia Outcast _pens._

_"Well duh, I dropped-" I said, covering my mouth with black fingernails when I flicked my eyes towards him. The way he smiled, the way his eyes melted like pure dark chocolate. My eyes darted to his clothes, doing a quick once-over. I wasn't checking out some random dude._

_"Alexander?" I asked, looking up into his eyes again. This mortal heart beat faster, willing it so. It_ had _to be him._

But he didn't answer, just held my stuff out in the air between us, waiting for me to break the moment and walk away.

I didn't.

He was still giving me that smile, looking at me with his head titled to the side like he was seeing me for the first time.

"I don't understand how you're here," I whispered, afraid my voice would break the spell.

He shook his head, laughing softly. _I'm really lost now…what the hell is going on?_

"Alexander," I said, willing him to look at me again. When he did, the smile was completely gone, like it was never there in the first place.

"That's where you've got it wrong," He said, handing me my notebook and all the other stuff I'd dropped. I thought it was weird that the spiral was open to the page I'd just wrote, the last thing on the list etched deep into it.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, taking a step back like he'd hit me. Was Alexander really saying we could never be together for all of eternity?

"I'm not your boyfriend, Raven," He whispered the words in the most colorless way imaginable, like we were talking about sports or the weather.

"You're-you must be kidding," I blinked, screaming at myself to wake the hell up. This was a dream. It was all just one big, sick, dream.

He shook his head again, raven-black hair hiding his expression. I wanted to push it back from his eyes like I'd done a million times before, but at the same time I didn't want to look at his face again. Alexander Sterling, my Gothic knight, my prince, the love of my life, was breaking up with me.

"I'm not," He whispered, pushing past me and walking out into the bright hallway. I ran to catch him, to pull him back, to ask him what I'd done and why he didn't want me anymore. But he was already gone, swallowed up by the crowd.

Alexander Sterling was just another face, just another fake.

Mrs. Story'd seen the whole thing go down, and I felt her hand on my shoulder. "Raven-I know you didn't want me to see that. And I know that shit happens and that it feels like the end of the world, but I want to give you a little piece of knowledge."

"And what is that, Mrs. Story?" I asked, ripping out the drawing of me and Alexander and crumpling it into something unrecognizable, just like he was to me, now.

She unclenched my hand and gently pried my former masterpiece from my fingers. I felt sick. I just wanted to go the fuck home and sleep for the rest of my life.

"This," My English teacher said in the softest voice ever, slipping a book into my black finger-nailed hands.

I was just glad she couldn't see the mascara running down my face, it probably made me look like some sort of Amy Lee groupie.

"I don't understand," I was staring down at a book of poetry. It was a worn, faded copy with musty yellow pages. It smelled like a library, good and bad at the same time.

"ʻThis is the way the world ends/Not with a bang, but a whimper,'" Mrs. Story said, pushing me forward. "T.S. Eliot said that," She grabbed my messenger bag off the ground and as I threw it over my shoulder, she whispered, "But if everything's not okay, it's not the end yet."

"Who said that?" I asked, turning towards her.

She saw the screwy make-up, the red eyes, the broken expression. Pushing up the stylish black glasses on her cute little nose, Mrs. Story said, "I couldn't tell you, but I can tell you that this isn't the end."

It got me to smile a little, some sunshine creeping into the rain clouds that'd taken over my mood.

"ʻBut what's real? You can't find the truth. You just pick the lie you like best. As long as you know everything's a lie, you can't hurt yourself.'" I closed my eyes when I said it, trying to picture the sun streaming in and warming my soul. That's how it'd always been, without him. Me, alone, just trying to get by.

"Let me guess, a Raven Elizabeth Madison saying?" I could hear the smile in Mrs. Story's voice. I knew without looking that it was crooked, but it just made her all the more gorgeous. Teacher-gorgeous, anyway.

I shook my head, laughing even though it wasn't funny. "Nah, Marilyn Manson, teach,"

And with that, I turned on my black heel and strode out, letting myself get swallowed in the thinning crowd.

* * *

_This is the chapter that Torahamutaro-chan thought needed work. And I agree, the whole story up until this point needs some serious work. Hell, the whole story needs some serious work. I'm not gonna edit anything, though, I want you guys to see how/if I'm improving. I'm taking my your advice, Torahamutaro-chan, and gonna take things slower. However slow it takes, promise I've gotten better!_

_Review = love, criticism = cool, flaming = not._


	4. Partners in Crime

_You guys know the deal by now. Read and review, hopefully you'll enjoy this thing. I, personally have a love-hate relationship with this fic at the moment. It plagues me, I can't get rid of it no matter how much I want to._

_And it's not that I don't like writing it, it's that I feel like it's so poorly written from what I'm used to doing now._

_*goes to brood*_

___**Disclaimer: I don't own "Vampire Kisses" or anything in it, the novel totally belongs to Ellen Schreiber and her wonderful little publishers. Because I'm neither her nor a publisher, I don't own VK. I'm just an innocent little fangirl, so pleasepleaseplease don't sue me for things I never claimed to own.**_

_Rated T for everything you're probably used to: suggestive content and language._

* * *

_She saw the screwy make-up, the red eyes, the broken expression. Pushing up the stylish black glasses on her cute little nose, Mrs. Story said, "I couldn't tell you, but I can tell you that this isn't the end."_

_It got me to smile a little, some sunshine creeping into the rain clouds that'd taken over my mood._

_"ʻBut what's real? You can't find the truth. You just pick the lie you like best. As long as you know everything's a lie, you can't hurt yourself.'" I closed my eyes when I said it, trying to picture the sun streaming in and warming my soul. That's how it'd always been, without him. Me, alone, just trying to get by._

_"Let me guess, a Raven Elizabeth Madison saying?" I could hear the smile in Mrs. Story's voice. I knew without looking that it was crooked, but it just made her all the more gorgeous. Teacher-gorgeous, anyway._

_I shook my head, laughing even though it wasn't funny. "Nah, Marilyn Manson, teach,"_

_And with that, I turned on my black heel and strode out, letting myself get swallowed in the thinning crowd._

I passed a girl half my height with a splattering of freckles across her nose, an over-sized sweatshirt that hid her bright blue mini-skirt, and cat ears to match. The instant she saw me, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me against a locker. If this were under any normal circumstance, I would have given her a death glare and said something about sexual harassment.

But there was no way in hell this was a normal circumstance.

"Rae, what happened?" She demanded, stroking a piece of my hair back behind my ear. I knew she was just trying to help me out. And I also knew it gave the other kids another damn thing to stare at.

"You look like you got hit by a car or something,"

"He-he just…" I shut my eyes and slammed the side of my head into the lock. It hurt, just like I'd wanted it to. But it didn't wake me up, which is what I _really_ wanted.

"I'm so sick of Trevor! When I get my hands on him, ooh that boy is _sooo_ dead!" Even with my eyes closed, I knew Becky was rolling up the sleeves to Matt's sweatshirt and getting ready to kick some major ass.

"Becky-"

"Don't you "Becky" me! I'm so friggin' sick of everyone doing that! What? Am I not strong enough to beat someone up? Am I too _delicate_ and _fragile?_ Or too damn _girly_? What? What is it?"

"Becky!" I opened my eyes now, slapping her in the gentlest way possible. I loved this girl like a sister but once she got started, she just never _shut up._ "Can you listen to me for a second? Just one?"

She held her cheek, red with the impression of my hand, and met my eyes with molten fire. "Alright, fine. You have a second before I go and kick Trevor into next week."

"Trevor doesn't have anything to do with this," I gestured to my runny make-up.

"Then who the hell-"

"Becky." I covered her mouth with my hand before she could go into another tyrant. "Alexander did this."

She screamed profanities and other things that'd make her mother's eardrums bleed from under my hand. I didn't let go until she bit my fingers so hard I thought she'd gone through bone.

"How?"

"I'll tell you on the way out," I said, digging my skeleton keys out from my purse. "I'm so not in the mood to stick around this hell-hole."

"I'll go find Matt and meet you back here in five, okay?"

I looked down into her huge brown eyes and felt torn between punching a wall and breaking down in her arms. In anyone's.

The thought of a blonde-haired, green eyed soccer player flashed through my mind. I distracted myself by telling Becky I'd see her soon. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek, saying, "We'll make Alexander gets on his knees and cry every day of his pathetic little life,"

I shut my eyes and put a hand to my head as a wave of dizziness crashed into me like a freight train. _Where are you when I need you?_ The thought changed; the image of a blonde and forest-green-eyed someone became a guy with raven-black hair and a deep, dark gaze. Both guys collided, one eye staying green while the other looked like the purest dark chocolate. His hair was still blonde, but the tips were dyed the deepest black, like a punk rocker trying to make it big.

My best friend's words washed over me in waves, like we were on radio frequencies that weren't quite compatible. I was Pissed and Alone and she was the Killer Chick in Blue. If I didn't feel like such a wreck I'd say those could be some pretty awesome band names one day.

"Without you, his life is completely and totally pathetic. That's all anyone's life is if they don't know you, babe. You game?"

I felt the twitch of a smile on my face as a tear slipped down my cheek. Becky couldn't see it because of my bangs, but I was crying again.

"Yeah, Beckham, I'm game," I whispered as she stalked the halls to grab Matt. I had no idea what she was planning, but if her boyfriend was involved, someone was sure to be in a world of pain by the end of the night. And tonight, that someone was my ex.

Alexander.

* * *

_I just realized how unreal this whole scene is. I mean, the way I pictured it, it was much more dramatic. But the way it's written..ew. It's way too unrealistic, I'm gonna try and move past this crap in the next few chapters, promise._

_Review = love, criticism = cool, blahblahblah._


	5. Note

_I think I'm scraping this story – until I come up with some good ideas to keep it going, I guess. I hope you guys stick around til then, may be a while but it'd be pretty cool if you checked out my other fics!_

_(I'm really sorry if you got excited and thought this was a new chapter!)_


	6. Savior in the Cemetry

_Somehow, you guys have stuck with me through this whole thing. High school's a monster that takes up all my time, I don't know how I wouldn't have gotten through this year without writing. *small smile* And my best friend, of course._

_Anyway, enough of the sentimental stuff._

___**Disclaimer: I don't own "Vampire Kisses" or anything in it, the novel totally belongs to Ellen Schreiber and her wonderful little publishers. Because I'm neither her nor a publisher, I don't own VK. I'm just an innocent little fangirl, so pleasepleaseplease don't sue me for things I never claimed to own.**_  


_Rated T for suggestive-ness and blahblahblah._

_Review = love and blahblahblah._

* * *

_I felt the twitch of a smile on my face as a tear slipped down my cheek. Becky couldn't see it because of my bangs, but I was crying again._

_"Yeah, Beckham, I'm game," I whispered as she stalked the halls to grab Matt. I had no idea what she was planning, but if her boyfriend was involved, someone was sure to be in a world of pain by the end of the night. And tonight, that someone was my ex._

_Alexander._

"This idea doesn't seem so hot anymore," I said, leaning against a grave slick with rainwater.

My best friend was crouched low behind a sunken tombstone. Her boyfriend was hanging out in a weeping willow, looking like he was suspended in mid-air.

"Rae, don't be ridiculous, babe," Becky said, laughing. I was about to inform her how ridiculous this whole thing was when she took a loud sip from her Hi-C.

I glared at her and it just made her laugh harder, holding her stomach like it was going to burst.

"He's just a boy, Rae."

"He's more than a boy! He's my boyfriend, he's the love of my life, he's my knight of the night, he's my vampir-" I covered my mouth with a black-finger-nailed hand.

_Shit!_ "I didn't just say that."

My best friend and old Matty Matt exchanged a quick glance. He looked at me, pretty-boy tan a little softer than a minute ago. Paler.

"I think ya did, Rave."

"I didn't mean that he's-" They both looked at me expectantly. "Well, he's not-you know," I laughed nervously, waving a hand in the air to dismiss the whole thing.

"Not what, Rae?" Becky's eyes twinkled in the light of the moon.

I started laughing again, and for every step I took back, Becky took one step forward.

"Well, I wasn't talking about-"

She had me backed up against Baroness Sterling's headstone now, the smooth marble surface cutting into my shoulder blades.

"What aren't you telling me, Raven?" Becky looked like the little girl I'd found in first grade. Horribly alone and on the verge of tears.

"Becky, I'm not trying to hurt you, I just-" Tears welled up in my eyes, too. I dashed them away, trying to make it look like a mascara-malfunction.

Matt unhooked himself from his perch on a gnarled tree branch, landing neatly on his feet. He put a hand on Becky's arm, pulling her close to him.

"What d'ya say we call it a night, Beckham?" He whispered, trying to coax her away.

"Only if it means getting out of this place," She whispered, collapsing into his arms. "It gives me the heebie-jeebies."

Matt's gaze flickered up to my meet my eyes for a moment; nodding in a silent _you're welcome._ He whispered sweet-nothings in Becky's ear, convinced her to go start the car, that he'd be there in a sec. She nodded against his shoulder, waved me goodbye, and strolled away into the fog.

"What the hell's going on?" I asked, taking a step toward the ex soccer-snob. He just grinned and held his hands up, pleading innocent. And while Matt looked it, I wasn't sure of his intentions. "You said Alexander would've shown up by now."

"The show's just beginning," Matt said in an off-voice, moonlight glinting off his smile.

"I don't understand," I wasn't backing down just yet, but this dude was really starting to creep me out. And I'm not creeped out often.

"Raven, Raven," He shook his head, sighing like I tired him. "You never understand anything, do you?"

"Excuse me?"

Matt was closer to me than a minute ago. Kissing-distance kind of close, the inches between us melting into sheer centimeters.

"What're you doing?" _For the love of God, you're not going to-_

"What do you think?" Matt asked, fire dancing in his eyes. This was bad. This was bad. This was really, really-

"Your eyes are red," I blurted out, half in realization, half in despair.

"And?" His breath tickled my ear.

"And they're supposed to be brown," I whispered as Matt backed me up against a lonely willow. If I could hear the beat of my heart over the sudden drizzle, I was sure he could, too. Not a second before he tore into my jugular, a menacing voice called,

"Get your damn hands off of her, pretty boy."

It took a millisecond for the owner of that voice to jump off the gate, land in the mud, and then move to punch Matt in the side of the face.

It took another millisecond and a half for my brain to register that the guy beating Matt to a bloody pulp was actually the biggest jerk in the universe-mine, anyway.

"Trevor, what the hell are you doing?" I screamed, shattering his concentration. His eyes darted to my own for a minute and it felt like the heat in his gaze could've set my soul on fire.

I winced as their fists kept flying, as Matt's landed neatly across Trevor's jaw. The guy laughed it off like it didn't hurt, but I knew better than that.

"Look, Mattie," I said, stomping over to the ex-soccer snob. "You may be dating my best friend, you may be taller than me, and you may have all the girls at school following you around like lost puppies,"

He grinned down at me while side-stepping all of Trevor's punches. I couldn't help but think it was a bit impressive. And also damn creepy.

"But I don't give a damn. Because the only one who pushes Trevor Mitchell around is me, got it?" And then I took a swing at the guy, hoping all my rings would dig into his face. Normally, I'm not a fan of violence, I don't support it. I'm hypocritical for socking this freak, I know.

And the freak blocked me, held up a hand to my fist, bent my fingers back so fast it was all I could do not to scream. There wasn't any blood, but that didn't mean I didn't feel any pain.

"Goddammit, Raven! Why couldn't you have just stayed out of this?" Trevor screamed over the thunder crashing in my ears.

"I thought you were smarter than that, Trev," I think Matt threw his head back and laughed, but I'm not sure. I think I was on the ground again, he must've thrown me a while ago.

"I mean, I knew you loved her, I always knew," The guys were circling each other, eyeing each other the way scavengers examine their prey. "But I never thought you'd have it in you to take me on."

I think it was raining again, it mixed with all the dried tears and dried blood around me. I think there was something wrong with my brain, because it was screaming that I really did just hear that. Really did just hear that Trevor Mitchell is in love with me. But underneath the numbness, underneath the shock of my revelation, all I could think was that I hurt. I hurt so bad I couldn't tell you what the hell was going on anymore. I just knew I had to get up, just knew I had to stop Matt because-because…

My train of thought slipped away as I heard the sound of bones connecting, breaking. The sound reverberated off the tombstones, echoed in my ears. It made me wince. Hopefully, that was Trevor breaking Matt's nose. Hopefully, he wouldn't lose like I did.

"Your first mistake was underestimating me. The second was fucking around with Raven and thinking you could get away with it," Trevor said in a low voice that would've been sexy, had it not been an animalistic, menacing growl.

I got -no, _dragged_- myself up, blinked away the haze that distorted my vision. Somewhere, at the back of my mind, I knew it was blood. Somewhere, at the back of my mind, I knew Matt would smell it rolling off of me.

And somewhere, in the back of my mind, I screamed at myself to lie back down in the dirt and just watch.

But I couldn't do that. Because like it or not, I knew that Trevor and I were in this thing together. And the thought echoed around in my brain, told me to get the hell up and face the bastard that was probably going to kill us.

I did the only thing I could do. I ran straight towards the vamp, ducked under his arm and planted myself between him and Trevor, between Trevor and glistening, immaculate doom.

* * *

_This was the longest chapter yet and I hope you guys can tell where the old part of this chapter starts and the new part begins. I tried my best, I really did. I didn't want anything to get lost in translation. When I write, it makes sense to me but most of the time, it doesn't make sense to someone else. So I hope you guys understand, and I hope you stick around for the latest installment!_

_**Before I forget, I should mention: The phrase "immaculate doom" was used in Gayle Forman's beautiful and fabulous, "Where She Went", a novel all of you guys should totally read if you believe in second chances. So anyway, the phrase isn't mine but I thought it sounded prett-y damn cool, so!**_

Yeah. Review = love and all that. Hope to see your reviews, they seriously make my rainy days that much brighter!


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